It is argued that instead of using the standardized discriminant coefficients to assess variable importance, the parallel and total discriminant ratio coefficients (DRCs) proposed by D. R. Thomas (1992) should be used, and parallel DRCs should be adopted as the actual importance measures. (SLD)

This study investigated the relationship between cognitive development levels and creative performance among late adolescents from a post-Piagetian perspective. Participants were 386 college students, ranging in age from 19 to 26 years. The Social Paradigm Belief Scale was employed to measure the three cognitive styles of late adolescence: formal,…

With the implementation of the Hathaway scholarship in the state of Wyoming, questions arose regarding the effectiveness of a prescribed set of high school courses (the Success Curriculum) in preparing students for success in college. This research sought to determine the perceptions of academic preparation of students who earned the Hathaway…

We find that faculty consider their self-interests, those of their students, and the value to their institution when deciding whether to adopt online education. Our sample of business school faculty at a public urban university suggests that faculty who perceive online education as contributing to a desirable image for the business school, and…

The primary purpose of this study was to specify the variables that would play the greatest role in predicting success of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) nursing graduates in the National Certification Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Participants for this study include a convenience sample of 39 students who…

Objective: This study is centered on interviewing techniques with alleged child sexual abuse victims who do and do not disclose sexual abuse. Method: Ninety randomly selected videotapes are reviewed, and the interviewing techniques are recorded on a 69-item Child Sexual Abuse Interviewing Skills Instrument. Results: The nondisclosure children are…

Social science research often entails the comparison of two or more groups. For example, researchers may explore differences between sexes, races, ethnicities, sexual identities, treatment conditions, diagnostic categories, or various other grouping variables. While there are a number of ways to approach these comparisons, applied social science…

Two nonparametric statistical methods, the inverse normal scores method and the rank order transformation, are compared for use in discriminant function analysis. The methods are compared for both normal and non-normal distributions. When the distributions are normal, the rank and inverse normal scores methods are effective substitutes for the…

DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS, A PROCEDURE FROM MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS, WAS UTILIZED IN A STUDY AND FOLLOW-UP OF 179 MATHEMATICS STUDENT TEACHERS. DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS HAD ENOUGH POWER TO DISTINGUISH THE DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF FOUR GROUPS (SUCCESSFUL, UNSUCCESSFUL, EMPLOYED BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS BUT NOT TEACHING MATHEMATICS, AND THOSE WHO…

G analysis is a type of discriminant analysis. A generalization of the G analysis to cases where variables are on an interval or ordinal scale is described. The placement system used in the description is distance-based, but other systems may also be applied. (Author/JKS)

A new estimator of the actual error rate for the two-group discriminant problem is presented. The new estimator is based on the concept of a shrunken generalized distance. This new estimator is compared favorably to two modified distance estimators and an estimator developed by M. Okamato. Four figures are included. (Author/TJH)

A Fortran program is presented for discriminant analysis of discrete variables. The program assumes discrete, nominal data with no distributional, variance-covariance assumptions. The program handles a maximum of fifty predictor variables and twelve outcome groups. (Author/JKS)

The objective of this paper is to review the outputs of selected computer programs often used to carry out a "discriminant analysis" with respect to two purposes of such an analysis, discrimination and classification. The programs selected are three BMD programs. (Author/JKS)

Studied problems in reporting the use of predictive and descriptive discriminant analyses through an examination of 20 such analyses published from 1998 to 2000. Findings show that results were often very mixed and study purposes were typically not very explicit. (SLD)

One hundred couples were followed for 13 years from the premarital period well through the primary risk period for divorce. Results of discriminant analysis indicated that couples who remain satisfied, become distressed, and divorce can be reliably classified on the basis of premarital data. Further, both previously identified demographic risk…